Nature Communications
February 25, 2022
Minji Lee, Leandro Sanz, Alice Barra et al.
120 citations
A deep-learning-based explainable consciousness indicator (ECI) uses EEG responses to transcranial magnetic stimulation and resting-state EEG to separately quantify arousal and awareness. Tested during sleep (n=6), general anesthesia (n=16), and severe brain injury (n=34), ECI distinguishes states such as ketamine-induced anesthesia and rapid eye movement sleep, which combine low arousal with high awareness. Parietal brain regions are most relevant for these measurements. The indicator offers a way to disentangle the two components of consciousness across physiological, pharmacological, and pathological conditions.
iScience
January 17, 2025
Paolo Cardone, Arthur Bonhomme, Vincent Bonhomme et al.
9 citations
In a small double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over trial with three adults who had prolonged disorders of consciousness after a coma, an intravenous sub-anesthetic dose of the atypical psychedelic ketamine increased brain complexity as measured by Lempel-Ziv complexity, but did not change the explainable consciousness indicator. Patients showed reduced spastic paresis and spent more time with their eyes open, yet their diagnosis of consciousness did not improve. No adverse effects occurred. The findings suggest a potential therapeutic role for ketamine in disorders of consciousness and support a link between brain complexity and conscious states.
Neurotherapeutics : the journal of the American Society for Experimental NeuroTherapeutics
April 18, 2025
Alice Barra, Rodrigo Huerta-Gutierrez, Jitka Annen et al.
3 citations
A subset of patients in a minimally conscious state show improved behavioral responsiveness after transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) of the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, while those who are unresponsive show limited benefit. Among 131 patients, 32% of minimally conscious patients responded to tDCS, compared to 10% of unresponsive patients. A regression model using baseline diagnosis, Coma Recovery Scale-Revised Index, age, sex, and time since injury correctly identified responders 77% of the time. Patients in a minimally conscious state with better cognitive profiles and longer time since injury appear to respond better to tDCS, suggesting they are better candidates for this treatment.